From Calhoun Falls’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How Calhoun Falls began
When was Calhoun Falls founded?
1892
The Calhoun Falls post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Calhoun Mills (1822) and Terrysville (1825), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 296 in 19102020 census: 1,727134 years
How historic is Calhoun Falls?
C+
More historic than 35% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Calhoun Falls post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Calhoun Falls’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Calhoun Falls is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Calhoun Falls’ overall grade.
South Carolina towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical South Carolina town has 3.2 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Calhoun Falls’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Calhoun Falls’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Peaked at 2,525 in 1960; 1,727 people lived here in 2020.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Calhoun Falls’ Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and places now gone
Calhoun Falls’s post office has been open since 1892. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Calhoun Mills
1822–1894
Terrysville
1825–1857
Calhoun Falls
1892–today
18201920today
Gone or out of use
Ellison Schoolschool
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Calhoun Falls, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Calhoun Falls yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Calhoun Falls is a town in Abbeville County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 1,724 at the 2020 census, down from 2,004 at the 2010 census. The town derives its name from James Edward Colhoun (or Calhoun).
Its first post office opened in 1892. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,004 to 1,727 (-14%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Calhoun Falls, 1822 to 1991
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Calhoun Falls. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1964Calhoun Falls sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Calhoun Falls.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewSeaboard Coast Line Railroad Bridge, Spanning Savannah River
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Calhoun Falls’ page.
The Calhoun Falls post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Calhoun Falls rank for history?
Calhoun Falls is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Calhoun Falls?
16% of Calhoun Falls’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1974.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
Date?
